Removal of oil spillage from the environment is a global concern. Various methods, including the use of fibers as sorbents, have been developed for oil spill control. Oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fiber is a plant biomass that may be acetylated by acetic anhydride using N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) as a catalyst; here, the extent of acetylation may be calculated in terms of weight percent gain (WPG). The modified fiber was used to remove Tapis and Arabian crude oils. The optimum time, temperature, and catalyst concentration were 4 h, 120 °C, and 3 %, respectively, and these parameters could achieve an 11.49 % increase in WPG. The optimized parameters improved the adsorption capacity of OPEFB fibers for crude oil removal. The acetylated OPEFB fibers were characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy to observe the functional groups available and morphology. Kinetic and isotherm studies were conducted using different contact times and oil/water ratios. The rate of oil sorption onto the OPEFB fibers can be adequately described by the pseudo-second-order equation. Adsorption studies revealed that adsorption of crude oil on treated OPEFB fiber could be best described by the Langmuir isotherm model.

Oil sorbents for cleanup operation should be of high sorption capacity, biodegradable, readily available, and lowcost. This is important for protection of the water environment, especially for oil spillage. Corn silk is a low-cost sorbent. In this study corn silk was treated by acetylation process to improve the sorption capacity. The process involved acetylation by acetic anhydride using N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) as a catalyst. Reaction time of 1, 3, 6, and 9 h, temperature of 90-120 o C and percentage of catalyst of 1-3 % were used in the experiment. The results showed that the highest oil sorption was 11.45 % weight percent gain (WPG). This was achieved at 3 % catalyst concentration in acetic anhydride and temperature of 120 o C for 6 h. A weight percent gain of 11.45 % was achieved. The effect of contact time on oil sorption capacity for different crude oil (Tapis and Arabian crude oils) was investigated. In general the sorption capacity reduced after the fifth cycle of sorption/ desorption. The characteristics of raw and treated corn silk were examined using FT-IR and FE-SEM. The treated corn silk as an organic waste material was found to have higher sorption capacity than that of the commercial synthetic sorbents such as polypropylene. This agriculture waste may be used to replace those of non-biodegradable oil sorbents.

Oil spills generally cause worldwide concern due to their detrimental effects on the environment and the economy. An assortment of commercial systems has been developed to control these spills, including the use of agricultural wastes as sorbents. This work deals with raw and modified mangrove barks (Rhizophora apiculata), an industrial lignocellulosic waste, as a low cost adsorbent for oil-product-spill cleanup in the aquatic environment. Mangrove bark was modified using fatty acids (oleic acid and palmitic acid) to improve its adsorption capacity. The oil sorption capacity of the modified bark was studied and compared with that of the raw bark. Kinetic tests were conducted with a series of contact times. The influence of particle size, oil dosage, pH and temperature on oil sorption capacity was investigated. The results showed that oleic acid treated bark has a higher sorption capacity (2,860.00 ± 2.00 mg/g) than untreated bark for Tapis crude oil. A correlation between surface functional groups, morphology and surface area of the adsorbent was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectrum, field emission scanning electron microscopy images and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis. Isotherm study was conducted using the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The result showed that adsorption of crude oil on treated mangrove bark could be best described by the Langmuir model.

This study investigated the water quality of some of the ex-mining lakes in Perak State of Malaysia for possible use as alternative to water supply and compared them to water quality of some of the rivers used for intake of water treatment. A total of twelve (12) water samples were collected for analyses from selected sampling sites. These samples were analyzed for physico-chemical properties, heavy metals concentrations, and organic pollutants concentrations. The analyzed results indicated that average temperature varied from 28.1 oC to 34.1 oC, pH 6.2 to 9.0, EC 55 to 400 μs/cm ,turbidity 5.6 to 74.2 NTU, DO 3.21 to 9.56 mg/l, TDS 36.8 to 268 mg/l, F- 0.017 to 0.182 mg/l, Cl- 0.483 to 3.339 mg/l, Br- 0 to 0.392 mg/l, SO42- 0.051 to 15.307 mg/l, Mg 0.833 to 1.466 mg/l, Na 0.669 to 3.668 mg/l, and Ca 2.85 to 26.77 mg/l. Heavy metals concentrations (mg/l) were: Zn 0.04 to 0.057, Pb 0.019 to 0.075, Cd not detected, Ni 0.013 to 0.105, As not detected to 0.004, and Cu not detected while COD 4 to 51 mg/l. Analyses revealed that all the water samples were turbid and containing slightly high concentration of Pb. Generally, they had common water quality problem. Further work should carry out more tests on other water quality parameters particularly on heavy metals, chemical and biological pollutants at different seasons.

This study presents the modification of cassava root husk-derived biochar (CRHB) with ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) for the simultaneous adsorption of As(iii), Cd(ii), Pb(ii) and Cr(vi).

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Oil contamination has caused more public anxiety than other waste or spilt materials into the marine environment. Oil sorbents of high sorption capacity, biodegradable, readily available and low cost, are important for protection of water environment, especially from oil spillage. This work deals with raw and modified corn silk, an agricultural waste, as a low cost sorbent for oil-products spill cleanup in the aquatic environment. Corn silk was modified using fatty acid (oleic acid) to improve its sorption capacity. The chemical functional groups of raw and modified corn silk were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Kinetic tests were conducted with a series of contact times. The kinetic studies showed good correlation coefficients for a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The oleic acid treated corn silk (OTCS) showed high degree of hydrophobicity and oil sorption capacity of approximately 10.7 and 11.90 g oil/g sorbent for Tapis and Arabian crude oil, respectively. Corn silk is a cheap waste material that can be treated to have an acceptable sorption capacity which can be used as an alternative to the commercial synthetic sorbents such as polypropylene.